Weather Vane
by PrelateZ
Summary: A thief who has been traveling all over Equestria was finally sighted, but she cannot yet be stopped. She disappears quickly, coming and going under cover of night and rain. One pony says she knows the thief, and asks for help in stopping her, but can she be trusted?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

A shadow sped across one wall of the store, making its way to the front. The heavy rain drowned out all noise as it reached the entrance door. Amazingly, the door was already unlocked. The shopkeepers must have forgotten about it when they left. _You really chose well tonight,_ the mare thought to herself. _All that time to find tools for taking down locked doors without a mess, and for what?_ She decided to be a little more cautious with the profits from this night's work.

The store was swept clean, every item set for tomorrow's opening. It took only a minute to reach the back of the store and find the safe tucked away in a corner. Apparently, the store owners had thought it was enough to place the safe out of sight, and not bother with stronger security. The key to the safe door was directly underneath the safe itself, another sign that not much thought went into keeping it protected. As she did on most nights, the mare talked to herself while she worked. "They really think nothing like this could happen to them? The ponies in this town are way too trusting."

She pulled several stacks of bits from the safe, pouring then into her bag. "Another clean sweep," she said as she locked the safe back up. It really was too easy this time. Slinging the saddlebag over one shoulder, she imagined the look on those ponies' faces when they next opened that safe.

"Hey, you there! Stop!"

Her thought was cut short as a figure darted in front of her and blocked the doorway. This stallion was brandishing a fireplace poker, though he hardly looked as though he would use it. "Ah'm warnin' you. Don't come any closer!" His voice was shaking now, taking all the weight out of his threat. The mare charged past him, knocking the strong earth pony aside easily and turning down the street.

It wasn't long before the same stallion could be heard drawing closer to her. "Get back here, thief!"

"This one doesn't quit, does he?" she asked. "Well, if he really wants this..." She stopped and turned sharply around, stretching her wings and dropping the bag. "Want me to come back, _partner?_ Come on then. Let's have some fun."  
_

The sun had not yet risen in Ponyville, but already the scent of breads and sweets rolled through the streets as Pinkie Pie began for the usual breakfast rush. A great array of donuts, pastries and cakes, filled with all sorts of fruits and cheeses, lay in neat rows beneath the clear countertop. Nopony was awake, save the two who often came in early to take the first choice of the wide selection. Lyra sat at a table on one end of the store, noisily eating her third donut a she read her newspaper. As usual, her friend Bon Bon sat across from her, slowly sipping a large cup of coffee.

"You know," Lyra remarked between bites, "I'm surprised nopony else is here most days. Ponies wonder why they can't find what they were hoping to buy, but they could've gotten it if they just woke up a little earlier. They really shouldn't complain if it's their own fault, right?

Pinkie noticed Bon Bon's lack of expression as she listen to her oblivious friend. If not for that coffee, the poor pony would likely have fallen asleep right at the table. At the moment, she was propping herself up with one hoof as Lyra carried on. Pinkie then remembered the cupcakes she had left in the oven, and rushed over to make sure they hadn't been burned while she was distracted.

Lyra's voice sounded from across the bakery. "Hey Pinkie Pie, have you heard the news?"

"Nope, haven't heard anything." Pinkie placed the new tray of cupcakes on the counter and bounced across the store to land beside Lyra. "What is it? Something fun?"

"Um, no, it's not fun," the unicorn dully answered. She flipped back through the newspaper, ending on the second page. "There's been another robbery out in Appleoosa. A pony's in the hospital this time, too.

"Oh... Sure are a lot of those lately." Pinkie grabbed the paper for a closer inspection. "First there were a couple in Manehattan, then Baltimare, and now Appleoosa. Kinda weird that whoever's doing this hasn't been caught yet. I mean, you'd think they could find her by now."

"Wait, what? 'Her?' How do you even—"

Pinkie shoved the paper back, pointing to one paragraph. "It says over hear that they keep finding letters left after the crime, and I'm pretty sure it's always the same pony leaving it. She's apologizing for them and saying it's not her fault. It's the weirdest thing, too. Have you ever heard of a crook feeling sorry like that? I sure haven't."

Lyra folded up the paper and returned it to her bag, bringing out a small coin purse. "Well, at least Ponyville's safe from whoever it is. Oh, wait..." She rapped a hoof against a nearby table. "Okay, so that's another five bits, right?"

A stack of five gold bits floated to the counter, guided by Lyra's magic while she put her purse back and started for the door. "There you go, Pinkie. Same time tomorrow?"

"Alrighty then, Lyra. I'll see you both tomorrow, bright and early!"

Sugarcube Corner would be empty for another half hour or so before other customers started to arrive. Pinkie Pie pulled another copy of the Ponyville Express and looked again at the article on the recent robbery. "Such a weird pony, writing apologies like this. I'd kinda like to meet whoever this is, just to see what she's like. Maybe we could even be friends!"

Pinkie paused for a moment. "Wait, would that make me friends with a thief? I sure don't want that, but I don't really want her to be lonely either, so maybe..." She tossed the newspaper back onto the stack and slowly walked back to the ovens. "Making friends sure is hard."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Appleoosa's hospital was never empty. With the kind of work most citizens get into, there is always one who makes a mistake somewhere and ends up here. A doctor in town is never out of work.

Melior was reportedly one of the best doctors Appleoosa had seen in many years. Her healing magic could do in a matter of hours what would take most other ponies would need days to do, and without using nearly as many materials.

Her latest patient had limped into the hospital himself (impressive after seeing his condition) and passed out in the waiting area. In just a few hours, Melior had taken care of his more serious injuries. Now he was awake again, doing his best to sit still while Melior was bandaging him.

"Ow! Dang it, doc, can't ya be a little more careful there?"

"This is gentle, Mr. Braeburn." If you had been a bit more careful yourself, Melior thought, perhaps you wouldn't be in this situation. "Now, could you describe to me again who exactly did all of this?"

"Wish Ah could, doc," Braeburn replied, wincing again as Melior continued wrapping his shoulder. "It was too dark ta see much o' her. She was a pegasus, and her coat, um...Ah think it was red, a little lighter than her mane. She was strong, too. Way too strong fer a pony o' her size."

Melior had finished the bandaging and was now taking notes. "Right, and do you know if she said anything that might have been important?"

"Lemme think a bit..." The stallion paused for a second. "Oh, she did say somethin' after Ah went down, or at least Ah think it was her. It was strange, like there were two ponies standin' there. There was the one who robbed the store, and another that sounded kinda frightened. The scared one asked 'Is he okay?' and the other said maybe she was gettin' carried away. Not sure what it all meant, but somethin' ain't right."

"Don't worry yourself about it. I'll take what you've told me to the Sheriff and the others leading the investigation here. Go home and rest, Mr. Braeburn. You'll need it if you want to heal completely."

"Thank ye, ma'am." Braeburn stood up from the table, testing his weight on each leg. He would be able to walk, but working the farm was certainly out of the question for a while.

Melior brought the notes she had taken across the room to a desk, sliding them into a folder. "Please call me 'Doctor Melior,' or simply 'doc' as you've done before. I try to keep a more professional air here.

"My apology, ma...Doctor Melior," Braeburn corrected. "Guess Ah should head home an' get a bit o' shuteye then."

Soon after Braeburn left Melior was back to the notes, looking them over once more before finding the Sheriff. The way Braeburn had described this pony, especially the bit about two distinct voices, could perhaps point toward multiple personality disorder. This makes sense, as the second voice that appears in the subject's mind does sometimes lead to an increase in aggressiveness and violence. It would certainly make for an interesting case.

Some good can come out of this as well, Melior thought as her eyes fell on the bill for Braeburn's treatment. If our missing mare stays in town a while longer, it can be a profitable case, too.

"Last call for Ponyville! Last call!"

A couple stragglers came running toward the train as the conductor looked around for more. Once it seemed nopony else would show, he turned to the engine and gave the signal to start. A shrill whistle sounded and the engine sputtered and coughed to life. It let out a great cloud of smoke as it slowly began to move the heavy locomotive along. Passengers waved goodbye at their friends and relatives standing beside the train, watching them for as long as they could before they were too far off to see.

Now a long journey lay ahead of them. For a full day and more, they would be on this train until it reached Ponyville. Some passengers passed the time reading, others by admiring the scenery through the windows. A few chose to move into the sleeper cart early, either out of desire for privacy, or just to get away from the colts who had started going to all the windows and shouting to each other as they searched the plains outside for "bandits."

Rainbow Dash occupied herself by finding her reserved bed and unpacking one of her bags. She pulled out an extra pillow, a small blanket, and a thick pair of earmuffs, then climbed up into the bed and opened her copy of Daring Do and the Bloodstone of Storms. Flipping to the page she had marked the day before, she dove into the book and soon became fully absorbed in it.

There had been little time to read with all the excitement of the last two days. Yesterday evening was taken up by a sudden celebration that caught up all of Appleoosa; (sudden for Rainbow Dash, at least – how could she have known the town would get so excited over Sheriff Silverstar's birthday?) the following morning, by a reported robbery just across the road from where Rainbow had spent the night. It would have been a much easier trip to the station if she could just fly over everypony and be done with them, but the cast pinning her right wing kept her grounded. Now, no distraction would stop her from continuing the story.

It was just starting to get good, too. After the boring introduction and a summary of Daring Do's last adventure (which Rainbow Dash had read as soon as the book reached Ponyville) the story returned to Daring and her search for the latest of countless lost treasures, the Bloodstone of Storms. The quest led her to a place where thunderstorms ran across the land on their own, with no pegasi to guide or stop them, threatening anything that happened to come below. Since they couldn't be controlled and could flare at any second, Daring could not risk flying and been grounded just as Rainbow was. Finding the same strange similarity again only made the book that much more enjoyable.

Some time later, Rainbow Dash noticed something as her eyes wandered off the page. Somepony was standing in front of her, and appeared to be talking to her. She didn't recognize this pony: her coat was just a shade darker than white; her mane, streaks of blue and blue-green. The earmuffs were working a bit too well to hear anything, though. "What was that?" she asked, nearly shouting as she had trouble hearing her own voice.

The other pony repeated herself, again with no results.

"Hang on," Rainbow said, "just a sec..." She removed the earmuffs, replaced the bookmark and set both items beside her on the bed. "What's up?"

"I just thought you should know...you're in my bed. My ticket is for bed D-2."

Rainbow Dash pulled out her own ticket, looking at it once more, then checked the label above her bed. Sure enough, this was bed D-2, but her ticker read "E-2," the one just beside her. "Oh, sorry about that. Here, I'll just—"

"No need for that," the other mare replied. "They're all the same anyway. I'll just take this one up here." She tossed her bag into the bed and climbed in after it. "I'm Polarene, by the way. Nice to meet you."

"Same to you, Polarene. I'm Rainbow Dash. So what are you headed to Ponyville for?"

"Oh, um...well, I'm just traveling around Equestria for a while, looking for some new experiences. I just finished dropping off some mail and took the next train I could find. Hopefully once we —"

Polarene suddenly looked out the window, her eyes widening a little. "So...what's the weather like in Ponyville?"

"The weather? Same as most other places, I guess." Rainbow replied. "This time of year we need a lot of rain for everypony's crops and gardens, so I'll have a pretty busy schedule for a while. It shouldn't be too... Hey, are you okay?"

Polarene was still staring outside, and now she was shivering just slightly. "W-what? Oh, I'm alright. It's just that I have a few...a few bad experiences with storms, that's all." She turned from the window and starting adjusting her bed.

"Um...okay..." Rainbow Dash dropped the subject. "Oh, did you hear about that robbery last night? It happened right by where I was; If I looked out the window I probably could've seen the whole thing! Crazy, right?" she picked up her book and opened it up again. "How about you?"

There was a long pause before Polarene spoke. "I think I know who robbed that store, and how to find her, too." Her voice dropped, like she was afraid to let anypony else hear. "It's...hard to say exactly how. I need some help before I can do it. Can I get you to promise not to say anything until I explain?"

Silence fell again over the near-empty car. "Sure you can. I won't tell a soul."

Polarene took a deep breath to steady herself before she started. "I think the thief...was me."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Morning in Ponyville is never unhappy. As the sun rises, it leaves a smile on each face its light touches. These smiles are brightest in the young, those fillies and colts that are always laughing and smiling as if all of life is a game, because to them, it is. However, nothing can steal that smile from a young pony quite like spending a beautiful day trapped in school.

A collective groan filled the schoolhouse as Ms. Cheerilee neatly wrote across the blackboard. "Alright, class, here is your assignment." Cheerilee put down her chalk and stepped aside, showing the class which section of their textbooks to turn to. "Just read the text and answer the questions at the end. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.

"Actually," she continued, "I think you should ask our guest here if you need anything. He probably knows more about this lesson than I do. Good luck, everypony!"

Cheerill had told the class the day before to be on their best behavior for the "guest speaker" who would arrive today. Magically bringing Cheerilee's chalk back to the board, he quickly wrote the name "Umbra" in a neat (yet still nearly unreadable to the class) script. He told them all kinds of old stories, which bored half of the class in moments and never got their attention back. He tried to make them more interesting by drawing the events and animals he talked about on the blackboard, but by the end of everything, hardly any of the students were left focused on the speech.

At least one student seemed to be quite interested, though. She raised a hoof eagerly to get Umbra's attention. When three seconds had passed, she decided it was too long a wait, and spoke up. "Excuse me...Mr. Umbra?"

Finishing a sketch of a river, he turned from the board. "Yes, miss—"

"Scootaloo."

"Right. So, Scootaloo, you have a question? I'd be happy to answer it for you."

Scootaloo put her hoof down, using it to prop her head on her desk. "Why do we have to learn all this old stuff? Can we learn about things going on now?"

Murmurs swept through the room as many other students seemed to agree with Scootaloo. Umbra sighed, looking over the class. _Again?_ he thought. _What class won't ask this same question? I'm not _that _boring, am I?_

"There's a good reason for that, Scootaloo," he began. "Old stories often have lessons for us to take out of them. If we learn from what our ancestors did all that time ago, it can help us make our world much better _now_.

"For example," he continued, "let's think about what a group up in Cloudsdale is doing. They're working with a professor in Canterlot, trying to invent a machine that can be attached to wings like a brace, magically strengthening them and making it easier for the wearer to fly. Weak flyers will suddenly have no trouble at all in the air. Would that be worth sitting through a few boring old lessons?"

Umbra watched Scootaloo fall silent. She stared out of the window with wide eyes and a wider smile. _Maybe not the best example, but it certainly did its job._

He faced the class again. "Alright, my part of the lesson is over. It's time for you all to start that assignment. If you need any help, Miss Cheerilee and I will both be here. Good luck!"

The rest of the day passed a little more slowly as the class worked through the assignment. They had split into groups, pulling their desks together and taking turns with the reading. Whenever one of them found an answer, the whole group would stop reading and write it down. By the way the members of each groups eyed the others, it looked like they all were treating it like a sort of race.

Finally, one group of fillies left their desks at once, rushing to the front of the class to turn in their papers. As soon as they did, the rest of the class groaned in despair, knowing they had just lost the "race." There was no prize to be given, of course, except the bragging that came with being the first ones finished. Tomorrow the race would start again, and every filly and colt in the room was determined to win it.

When school ended and the classroom was cleaned up, Umbra gathered his supplies and started his walk home. It had been a tiring day, but he would not allow himself to rest yet. There were at least four projects he thought he could get to this week, two of which he hoped to finish today. The others were not too important – just a couple subjects that might be useful to know someday – so they could be held off for a while.

As Umbra rounded a corner, he could just start to see his house in the distance. Soon he would get back to a quiet atmosphere, free from shouting and arguing foals, and free to dive back into his research. Just when he finished the thought, however, a voice called out from behind. "Hey, Umbra! Wait up!"

The voice was instantly recognizable as Rainbow Dash. Umbra turned around and stepped to one side as she landed in front of him. "Welcome back. How was Appleoosa?"

"It was fine, thanks," Rainbow quickly replied, "but that's not why I'm here. I need some help for my friend." She gestured to her side, and Umbra noticed for the first time the other pegasus Rainbow had brought with her. She had been standing so still, it was as if she just appeared there. "Umbra, this is Polarene. Polarene, meet Umbra. Like I said, I don't know anything that can help you, but maybe he does."

"Let's hope so. Now, what do you need?" As he spoke, he looked closely at Polarene, trying to commit her to memory. _Polarene: pegasus pony, white coat, long blue and green-blue mane, blue eyes. Got it. Hopefully..._

Polarene brought a saddlebag forward and pulled out a newspaper. "I'm trying to catch a thief who's been attacking lately. I haven't had any luck yet, but when I met Rainbow Dash on the train from Appleoosa, she told me she knew a few ponies who could help me.

"You're after a criminal? I don't know if I'll be any help to you there," the unicorn admitted, unrolling the paper. "Do you know anything about who this thief is?"

"Y-yes," Polarene started, "I know exactly who she is, but it's a little more complicated than that."

Scanning the newspaper, Umbra found the article on Appleoosa's robbery. "What do you mean? How do you—"

"Rainbow Dash, there you are! Am I late?"

Fluttershy lightly touched down by the group. "Sorry for taking so long, Rainbow. You said somepony here needed my help. Is she hurt?"

"Good to see ya here, 'Shy. This is Polarene, the one—"

"Excuse me," Umbra interrupted, "but would you like to talk about it inside? It might be a bit more comfortable that way, and I might even have a book that can help us."

"Yeah, good idea," Rainbow nodded. "A bit safer, too. C'mon, everypony, let's go."

Umbra led the others to the front door. He cast a quick spell to unlock it, swinging it open easily just as he reached it. Allowing the other three to enter before he came in, he closed the door behind them, leaving it unlocked this time. "Sorry for the mess. I wasn't expecting any guests," he explained. "Go ahead and take those cushions wherever you want."

The "mess" was limited to just a corner of the room, where a collection of books and notes was sprawled across a table. A plate was left among the papers, holding half of a sandwich, which Umbra took as he made his way to the far door. "Are any of you hungry? I can make a few more."

"I'm good."

"I don't need anything."

"No, but thank you for asking."

Umbra took a bite of his sandwich. He looked down at it, blinked twice and set it back on the table. "I think I'll pass, too. Alright, now we're all here. Polarene, can you tell me exactly what you need help doing?"

The white pegasus took a slow, deep breath. "Yes, I'll try."

She explained everything to Umbra and Fluttershy, starting with what she told Rainbow Dash earlier on the train. Somehow, Polarene knew that she was the thief who had robbed the store in Appleoosa, and many other places before it. After every crime, however, she had no memories of it. She had seen the connection in Las Pegasus, when she woke up wearing a large necklace that was not her own, and sporting a bruise she could not remember getting. She found later that the necklace had been stolen, and the previous owner had lost it when she was attacked in an alley. A few more similar cases came, and Polarene was sure that, in some strange way, she was the one responsible for these crimes.

She needed help, but there was no way to find it. If she simply said she was the thief, nopony would believe her. The few who ever saw the thief have said that she has a coat and mane of dark red colors. Polarene looks nothing like her. If she could convince them that she truly is the thief, then they certainly wouldn't help her. After all she has done, whether she remembers it or not, they would probably just imprison her. She had nowhere to turn until Rainbow Dash offered her help.

Umbra had spent most of the time sitting still, his eyes closed, thinking carefully about everything Polarene said. He got up suddenly, moving first to check the window on the far wall. "Okay, this is a lot to take in, but I already see it'll be difficult to help you, assuming I even can. It's getting dark, so one of you should lead Polarene to the inn. You have a few bits with you, right?"

"Of course," she answered. "They're right here."

"I can take her there," Fluttershy offered. "It's not out of the way at all."

Umbra nodded. "Alright. I'll look downstairs for any book, any information, that can help us. Maybe something like what Polarene described has happened someplace before. Tomorrow, we'll meet again and try to figure something out. If there aren't any problems, I'll see you all then."

Fluttershy left first, Polarene close behind. Rainbow Dash approached the door, but stopped and looked back. "Hey, are you okay?"

Umbra was taking the cushions from the floor and piling them back up. He turned to the door, looking confused. "Um...yes, I am. There are a lot of books to sort through, but I think—"

"No, not that. Look around you. Every day you're in this little house all alone, with no company but your books. Doesn't it get to you?"

"No, I guess not. I don't see anything wrong with that if it's not hurting me, do you?"

"I'm just worried for you, that's all. Even Twilight gets out more, and she's usually the one cooped up in her library. I don't think it's healthy to be here all day by yourself. You need some fresh air once in a while."

"I'll think about it. Go get some rest, Rainbow. I think it'll be an interesting day tomorrow, and you'll need to be at full strength. Good night."

"Yeah, I guess so. Good night."

Umbra stood at the bedroom window, watching the night sky, as he did nearly every night. He had lost track of how long he was there, but the position of the moon told him he should get to bed. Finally getting the blanket adjusted and settling in, he looked to the window once again.

_What have I just been thrown into?_


End file.
